Spring Cleaning Beach Sweep

Me and my roommate went to this beach cleanup, got a bag, a grabber, and each a pair of gloves. We started on the beach, but there wasn't much trash we could find, so we went out to the main road and were a lot more successful!

I was able to join the plastic ocean project in doing a beach clean up. We were all provided a reusable trash bag, a grabber, and reusable gloves when we got there. I went with two of my friends and we walked 2 miles on the beach and 2 miles back on the road where we all three had our bags filled. During this activity having two friends be there with me spotting as much trash as possible was helpful and kept me company on the journey. At the end of the cleanup everyone who had participated came together and we weighed all of our trash together and it was crazy to see how a group of only 30 people could find so much trash just on a small portion of Wrightville. This experience overall was able to open my eyes on just how much trash is being thrown out on the roads and the beach affecting not only the community we live in but also the animals and sea creatures that live here as well. It made me realize the importance of taking care of the environment around you and spending quality time with people who have the same interest in doing so. The organization that hosting this event was the plastic ocean project group and they host events similar to this one weekly and keep each event open to the public, I found this extremely interesting and a good way to influence the community to volunteer, the event was even sponsored by a popular tea brand and we were able to all get our own tea before we began. Their mission overall is to have the community involved and reduce plastic pollution. This experience shaped my thinking by making me focus on what is going on in the community more and take opportunities more often to give back and help in any way I can.

I really enjoyed participating in the beach cleanup at Wrightsville this past Saturday. I was excited to see there was a lot of students presents even though the weather was bad. I did not know anyone there but I introduced myself to another student, Jenna, and we stayed together the rest of the day. During the cleanup we walked along the beach, beach accesses, and along the side of the road. We used gloves, grabbers, and reusable bags to pick up trash during our walk. This experience really connected to my values because the beach has always been a big part of my life. I am from Wilmington near Carolina Beach and I love it here. My mom and I have done this before in Carolina Beach so it felt great to do it in Wrightsville too. The organizations mission is rooted in keeping the beaches clean for a better environment. This experience showed me that a part of great leadership is just showing up and participating with a team.

I took part in picking up litter on and around Wrightsville Beach. We were given trash bags and trash picker uppers, and then returned the trash to other event workers to weigh the trash. There were lots of people who worked in pairs. One person would hold the trash bag and the other person would pick up the trash with a trasher picker upper. I didn't really know anybody there so I just worked by myself. This experience connected to value of picking up litter and interest in the natural environment. I hate seeing litter when I am out and about, especially in a beautiful natural environment. By picking up trash, I feel that I am helping take care of God's creation and preserve it for myself and other people to enjoy. I learned that a lot of UNCW organizations care about keeping the beach clean. This makes sense since I know a lot of students come here for the beach. In general, I feel like a lot UNCW students enjoy nature so cleaning up the beach makes a lot of sense. This experience made me think a lot about the community I would like to live in and serve. I have found that Wrightsville Beach holds itself to a different standard than other beaches, as a result I think people try to keep things looking nice.

The tasks and activities that I took part in were meeting up at Wrightsville Beach Access 4, where the event sponsors gave us the run down on what we should be doing which is walking up and down the beach and using the trash grabbers and trash bags that they provided for us. I noticed that people spread out and worker together to try their best to get the best radius for picking up as much trash on the beach. This experience connects me to my values and interests because I love being outside and going to the beach, and I also believe in a strong community and I think that this event helped keep the environment clean and builds a relationship with the community as we worked to help it thrive. I learned about the organization and how they do lots of work on keeping our awesome beaches clean and I think it is a great thing that this organization does. This experience can shape my future in business because I realized that working with others and having clear goals and communication can make working a lot smoother.

It was an amazing opportunity to give back to the community during this event. The Spring Cleaning Beach Sweep gave me the chance to walk down Wrightsville Beach starting at Access 4 and help clean up a large stretch of the shoreline. I worked in a group of three others, and we formed a line as we moved down the beach, picking up any trash we came across and adding it to our bags. It was really cool to see how well we worked together toward a shared goal. I also felt like doing community service with this group helped me grow closer to them. This experience connects directly with my goal of always helping others and going the extra mile to make the world a better place. I learned that the organization’s mission is to keep trash and plastics out of the ocean and maintain a clean beach that everyone can enjoy. This cleanup honestly changed how I think about helping others, and it’s something I’ll carry with me into the business world. I now understand the importance of community service, and I want to incorporate and even host service opportunities through my future career.

On March 28th, I participated in the Spring Cleaning Beach Sweep with the Plastic Ocean Project at Wrightsville Beach. During the event I walked the beach collecting any trash found. I started at Access Point 4 and walked south till I reached Johnnie Mercers Fishing Pier and returned collecting trash in both directions. While we didn’t find as much trash as I thought we might, both collecting trash and the overall cleanliness made me feel good. I am very conscious about properly disposing of trash properly and recycling whenever possible. Seeing the beach maintained well was great to see. However, it also made me feel good making improving its state of cleanliness further was rewarding. It felt good to know that the trash we collected reduced its impact on the beach environment and prevented animals from being negatively impacted. This definitely had a positive impact both on the environment and on myself to look for more opportunities to give back to my community.